Elongated cables are found in use in many industries including those that conduct deep drilling, such as within the oil drilling industry. These cables may be used to transmit information and data from a drilling region having the drilling equipment to a control center located remote to the drilling region. Frequently, the cables have jackets, shells or exterior armor that is used to protect the conductor within the cable. At times, these jackets or shells may need to be removed to gain access to the conductor. Current methods of removing this material includes using a sharp knife or tool to cut through the jacket, or items such as a hot knife or flame source to remove the jacket with ease.
These methods and tools can be hazardous, as workers can become easily cut with the sharp knives and heat sources may be dangerous to use in environments where flammable materials, such as fossil fuels, are present. In addition, many of these conventional tools tend to damage the cable, or the conductor portion interior of the jacket. Damage can also occur to areas of the jacket where removal was not necessary or desired. Damage to the cable, conductor or jacket can result in higher installation and product costs, since a damaged cable may have to be replaced when it is not fully reliable. For example, some cables with damaged jackets may be incapable of sealing properly when they are used in deep drilling operations, and thus, are likely to fail.
Thus, a heretofore unaddressed need exists in the industry to address the aforementioned deficiencies and inadequacies.